Masstar, through a mix of coercion and incentives, demanded three hundred militia from several small lords, including the Porcupine Knights.
It wasn't voluntary, but they had no choice.
Otherwise, if those ten paladins went mad, they could kill all of them and then leave with ease.
Don't talk to Masstar about mercy and rules; Black Knights are the least rule-abiding when necessary, otherwise how could the Laine Empire have conquered such vast territories with those resembling ascetic monks and saintly paladins?
The Porcupine Knight parted with eighty men with great reluctance. Although Masstar gave him a considerable sum of money, the operation of a domain doesn't rely on cash alone—what's most important is the population. Many had already died in a great war, and now dozens more able-bodied men were being sent away, causing the Porcupine Knight to worry about the next year's farming.
